QUETTA - The local tribesmen Sunday blew up main pipelines supplying gas to neighbouring Punjab province and causing suspension of gas in Dera Bugti. The Balochistan Republican Army claimed the responsibility for the attack.
The explosives were planted with the main pipelines near Mazari Goth at Balochistan-Punjab border and blew them up. As a result, gas supply from Balochistan was suspended to Punjab. After the blast, the gas pipeline caught fire and the flames could be seen from miles away. After hours, the maintenance staff brought the fire under control.
The gas company officials said that in the wake of gas deficiency, gas supply to almost all power stations in Punjab including Kot Addo, Muzzaffargarh, Rosh, Kabirwala, Pir Gaib Multan and Pak-Arab fertilizer has been suspended.
They said that if they did not get required quantity of gas, they would have to also stop gas supply to industrial sector of Punjab.
They hope that the affected gas lines would be soon repaired and supply would be restored.
Meanwhile, some unknown persons set two government vehicles on fire in the provincial capital Quetta on late Sunday night.
According to detail unknown persons set a government vehicle parked in front of a house in Railways Housing Society and escaped. In another incident some persons showed torch to a pickup of Levies Department and escaped. Both vehicles were damaged badly.
Another pipeline was blown up on Sunday morning, disrupting supply from the Pir Koh gas field to the main purification plant of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited in Sui.
In the Pir Koh area, the 22-inch diameter pipeline was blown up at around 4am. “Three-to-four foot long portions of the two pipelines were damaged,” a senior police officer told Dawn from Sui.
The sources said that although gas supply to the main purification plant had been reduced from the Pir Koh and Loti fields, the plant was working smoothly because its was receiving gas from around 90 wells of the Sui field.
The police registered the cases against unknown persons and started investigation.
At least eight people including three women and three children were injured when a rocket hit a family house of a police officer at Tarin Road on Sunday evening, as around 27 people were also arrested during a massive operation in the provincial capital.
DIG (Operation) Rahmatullah Niazi said that the rocket was fired from unidentified destination and hit the family house of a Superintendent Police Rasool Bakhsh Rind at Tarin Road.Three women, three children and two men were injured in the attack.
The police launched a massive operation at Saryab Road, Faizabad and Hazarganji area against those who launched violent protest after Balach Marri's killing and attacks on police teams in Quetta. Niazi said that at least 27 people were arrested in 18 hours long operation.
On the other hand, the local people said that police rounded hundreds of innocent people from different parts. Similarly, Marri tribesmen said that police started door-to-door search in Hazarganji area and arrested at least 10 people. In another development, a self claimed spokesman of the banned Baloch Liberation Army, Beebarg Baloch said that the BLA militants had attacked the security forces in Kahan areas where they suffered losses. |
